Imagine……….

…. your family is gone.

Or far away?

Or, even worse, doesn’t care?

Now imagine you are in your very senior years, and the body you once took such pride in doesn’t look so hot and doesn’t function so well……you have some chronic illnesses that need daily attention and cause you to live in pain; conditions that will be with you until “the end.”

Imagine yourself in that body waking up in a single bed with a roommate nearby. She is nice, but until two weeks ago you never laid eyes on her and you have nothing in common. Some trinkets of your home of 40-some years lie nearby, but most are gone – there is no room for them.

Imagine you are in a room that is just one of many identical rooms on a floor of a large building, identical rooms are on floors above and below you.

Imagine you’re unable to get into the shared bathroom, despite the urgency you feel because someone else you hardly know is using it. Perhaps there’s even a line.

Imagine you finally use the facilities and start to think of getting some breakfast. You have no kitchen, no cabinets, nothing in your room. You must take your walker and head off to the elevator leading to thr cafeteria where you eat whatever someone else has chosen for the menu that day, sit at a table with more strangers, and try to make conversation. But some cannot speak.

Imagine looking about the room, seeing no one but gray-haired, frail and smileless faces all around you. Few are speaking, some are staring into the distance at something you cannot see, and no one knows or really cares who you are or who you used to be.

You have nowhere to go, no one is expecting you, no one calls you on the phone and the only sometimes cheerful person who speaks to you does so to bring your daily medications (that you can no longer keep for yourself, even though you still know how and when to take them). It’s often a different person, and most of them call you “honey,” because they cannot remember your name.

You learn that a bingo game is starting down the hall – but you’ve always hated bingo.

It’s a beautiful sunny day, and normally you would walk your beloved dog (whom you never see because he is living with someone else now), take a drive, go shopping, go to the beach, visit friends, volunteer or whatever are your pleasures in life.

The only other things on your “schedule” for the day are lunch and dinner, more medications, and a quick assessment of your blood pressure and temperature by a nurse’s aide.

Imagine, your surroundings are quite lovely – but you never leave the building except perhaps to sit on a bench two feet from the front door or take a short walk around the parking lot. You are there every day, 365 days a year and each day you have the same “schedule.”

Were you convicted of some crime that caused a judge to sentence you to this? No, you just got old and somewhat infirmed and no one in your family had a room for you with them.

You are where millions of Americans reside each day.

You are somewhere you swore you’d never end up.

You are somewhere family members swore they’d never “put” you.

You are in a nursing home.

And you have no checkout date, except for your “final exit.”

Baby Boomers Denial: It Won’t Happen to Me

Don’t kid yourself. It can and will happen to many in our generation. I’ve spent enough time in nursing homes as a companion to realize it happens to anyone.

Don’t get me wrong. There are many wonderful nursing home facilities and I have the utmost respect for the thousands of nurses, doctors, aides and support staff who dedicate their lives to providing compassionate and loving care to everyone they serve. They are unsung heroes.

But, is it possible to find an alternative solution? You betch’a, but only if you get out of denial and start planning now. There are long-term care policies and other ways to assure you can spend your final years in different circumstances.

Baby Boomers are notoriously independent and most want to stay that way. But it is only by squarely looking at the possibility and doing something now to maximize your options as you age.

In the wealthiest country in the world, over fifty-percent of people surveyed believe they will not have enough money to retire….and don’t plan to.

But let’s face it, aging is hard. Even if your employer still wants you and even if you are mentally capable of continuing to perform well on the job, physical limitations may prevent you from doing it. Chronic illnesses, a sudden need to provide care for a loved one, an accident, sudden disastrous health issues – all of these might prevent your ability to keep that job.

Or, in this economy perhaps employment is just not available to you.

Even if you are not above working for minimum wage, realistically is it possible to adequately support yourself on that amount?

No, it’s not.

Is There an Alternative?

No doubt some people will require 24/7 skilled nursing care to manage daily life. Some conditions, such as late-stage Alzheimer’s, necessitate living in the safe environment of a nursing home. But not everyone.

Even quadraplegics can manage to age in place given the right circumstances.

But what does it take?

Unfortunately, the crass, crude but true answer is one thing……..MONEY.

Don’t expect it to come in abundance from the government – you’re still wearing your rose-colored glasses if you do. Sure, some assistance will be available, but not enough to sustain your life at home.

Money – enough of it to pay for the living environment, modifications and services you will need to age in place. Sounds like a small fortune, but luckily you don’t have to be Bill Gates to afford it.

For example, I help care for a 98 year old woman who lives alone in a one bedroom apartment in a lovely senior development. Yes, she has family that help out with grocery shopping, clothes shopping and other similar requirements, but her day to day care is provided by aides who come to her home to assist her in the activities of daily living (such as bathing, dressing, preparing meals, doing laundry, picking up the mail and reminders to take medications at the right time). They also keep a watchful eye on her condition. A visiting nurse checks up on her weekly and Meals on Wheels delivers food daily (prepared and served by the aides).

Perhaps having strangers coming and going doesn’t sound too appealing, but contrast it to a day in the life in a managed care facility and, for me, it’s a no brainer.

Given her physical and mental limitations and considering her age, she continues to live an enjoyable life. Perhaps it won’t come to that for you, but if it does, wouldn’t it be comforting to know you have the funds to make it happen?

Where Will The Money Come From – Enter the Baby Boomer Business.

If you’re gut wrenchingly honest with yourself, truly remove your blinders and envision all the possibilities for your future, this does not have to be a monumental task. With enough money, you can maintain your independence until the bitter end.

If your cognitive skills are still relatively intact, you can start a home-based business that will sustain you for the rest of your days. In fact, you can become quite wealthy. All thanks to the innovation of the Internet. Work from anywhere, at any time, in virtually any physical condition. Technology has opened doors hitherto closed for a generation whose life expectancy is greater than any who came before.

But you have to start NOW. Now is the time to grow that wealth before you need it, before you can no longer shovel the snow off your car and commute to work at a job that may not last. More people are opening home-based businesses than ever before, and it can all be done online.

For as little as $25 or as much as $10 or $20K, you can be in business for yourself. You can start part time if you are still working until your Baby Boomer home business revenues exceed your salary.

You can open a home based business in a field you truly enjoy, meet all sorts of interesting people from around the globe and secure your independence for the future. As long as you want to keep at it, age is irrelevant. In fact, MOST home businesses are opened by Baby Boomers. It is not the Age of Aquarius – it is the age of the baby boomer business.

But WHAT Baby Boomer Business?

It really doesn’t matter. If you can turn on a computer and access the Internet you can do this – despite any lack of knowledge you may have in things technical.

The keys – the absolutely indispensable ingredients - are finding the right mentors and the opportunity best suited to you – one that offers proven income potential and proven likelihood of growth. That may not be just one opportunity – in fact, it is often wise to diversify into several income streams. Crawling your way through the hype and hysteria online takes patience and a great deal of research. But once you find the people you resonate with, involved in an opportunity that is legitimate, growing and meshes well with your interests – you’re home free.

Sure, it can be hard work to find the right fit, but the results are priceless. Take care of yourself now and you’ll be able to take care of yourself forever and you can leave those “Imagines” in the dust of your imagination.

Empower Network and Alexa Rankings

Why do I keep bringing it up?

Because Alexa is THE international report card on how well a website is doing, and it’s constant growth is a sign of health, vitality and growth.

And opportunity. Is your blog hosted at a 209th-ranked Alexa rated site? I know my personal blog isn’t – not that it isn’t part of my overall business, but it just can’t compete in a world of millions and millions of websites who get more attention.

And Empower Network blogs get attention which means you get attention. And compensation for your efforts: Over $8 Million paid directly to associates in just 8 months. I’ve never heard of a company skyrocketing like that. Dave Sharpe is right in saying we are carving out our own unique niche in the network marketing/direct sales industry.

Baby Boomer Business and Beyond

Looking at the Alexa details, the Boomers and the 65+ generation are greatly over-represented among the Empower Network visitors.

Many people think we Baby Boomer’s are behind the times in technology and business, but we’re right on top of things here with the movement that is sweeping the country (and the world – 170+ countries).

Annyone can dabble at Empower Network for $25 with the flagship product, the blog system (the site ranked 209). What are Baby Boomers and the 65+ crowd doing here at the site – they’re getting in. That’s the basic motto of the enterprise just get in.

Baby Boomer business can start up simply with an Empower Network blog. Or the person can get all in and build an entire business, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But the great thing about Empower Network is that this business fits hand-in-glove with anything else you may be doing – whether online, offline or brick-and-mortar. What little restaurant doesn’t want a web presence that’s ranked so high that they’ll be found when people look, no matter how small the town or the business.

Baby Boomer business has never had an opportunity quite like this – the online world has never seen anything like this.

And you’re not left in the dust, just take a look at one of our most recent trainings (ONE OF MANY, I might add): Ljve From the Beach Training

The only questions remaining (unless $25 is a question?), are where do I find the person I can relate to, what team are they on and how can they help me?

Empower Network Simple Freedom Team

We don’t reinvent the wheel.

We are chock-full of easy-to-follow training methods (FOR FREE) and represent a huge contingent of Baby Boomers (as well as others).

See, you don’t jump from nowhere to ranking #255 on Alexa.com in less than 8 months, boast over 33,000 paid members and have paid out over $7 MILLION to those members without having something going for you.

Here’s an example of what you get from Simple Freedom - our Facebook clubhouse:

But Still, Why Join Empower Network for $25?

David Wood, Empower Network co-founder (and affiliate just like the rest of us), wrote a milestone blog post last night.

Here is an edited and shorter version that gives you the gist of what he said and the way to get in NOW:

“I’m excited to write this post…

Why?

Because about 5 minutes ago, we just passed 34,003 PAID customers…

…in just over 7 months.

Our growth is about to get… gnarly

Here’s the best part, though:

What you’re looking at on the right, is a snap shot taken just now (July 8th, 5:14pm Central America Time) of the TOTAL earnings from our top 25 affiliates since our launch, on October 31st, 2011.

Important Disclaimer: Just because ALL of our top 25 earners made MORE THAN $52,000 in just 7 short months, doesn’t mean that you’ll make that much money, too. We update our LIVE average earnings stats every 24 hours, and you can see them by clicking here.

What’s the best part of that photo? I’ve been in companies with 250,000 reps that didn’t have their top 25 people earning that much every 7 months…

…that have been around for FIVE YEARS.

That’s not just good – that’s remarkable.

And…

…it’s about to get ‘gnarly‘.

Why? Because although we are growing already by more than 45% each month…

…over the past 30 days, we’ve acquired a kind of social proof, credibility, and authority that when we launched….

See, this company didn’t start with angel investors, 10 ‘super Gurus‘ or $5 million dollars of startup cash.

We…

…just.

Launched.

What did we have, though…

…was one big ass dream, a cool as hell product line, and the most badass group of dreamers that have ever been alive.

Here’s a photo of us, in the sweaty hotel room in Orlando where we first shared the vision of WHERE we’re going to go:

Lol. That’s right, we launched an internet company in a hotel meeting…

…with a bunch of newbies, and PART TIME marketers.

Here’s the funny thing, though…

…it wasn’t even an ‘ACTUAL’ hotel meeting – it was in a hotel room! We didn’t even have a whiteboard stand, or an eraser! LOL!

The result?

34,003 paid customers in the next 7 months, and more than 25 six figure income earners.

We did it all with no investors, no credibility, no help from ‘the Gurus‘ and MASSIVE initial roadblocks that would have put most companies out of business.

Since then, we’ve invested around $300,000 in the technology that runs our products, built a corporate office from the ground up in St. Petersburg, Florida, fixed the infrastructure issues that caused us some pain in the beginning, and created a scalable way to pay people…

…all over the world.

We launched our first ‘affiliate only‘ event, with no sales video, no launch process, with a hard to find ‘buy now’ button hidden deep in the members area…

…and 1,250 people showed up, signed NDA’s, and learned how to build a MILLION dollar empire in Empower Network.

Here’s a picture of me, onstage, in front of 1,250 people in Atlanta:

In short:

We.

Did.

It.

And now, you and I have a magic that we’ve never had:

CREDIBILITY.

And I’ve seen the magic at work…

…the last 4 weeks, we’ve had more people with PROVEN leadership skills join Empower Network, than we did in the previous six months.

I’m not talking about people that have the ABILITY to become leaders – I’m talking about people that know how to move armies already.

…you probably feel it.

It’s coming.

And we’re going to kick it off, with the most badass affiliate contest you’ve ever been a part of…

….

…the details will be announced on Monday Night’s call, at 9pm EST

Here’s the call in details:

Dial in number: (712) 432-0900Secret Code: 260326

See, when we launched, we had a beautiful idea.

And THE PEOPLE loved it.

The ‘Gurus‘ criticized it.

Industry leaders sat back…

…wondering:

“Will these guys pull this shit off?”

Now… they’re seeing what I’m seeing:

People are making more money here, with less production, than they ever have in their LIVES.

It’s your turn now.

Get on Monday night’s call – we’re releasing the details of the most badass contest that you’ve ever been a part of in your life.

The best part?

ANYONE CAN WIN.

What we’re releasing tomorrow night…

…is just the start.

The start of a new beginning.

A new beginning, where…

…by the end of this year – we will have 34,003 new customers buying…

…EVERY 30 DAYS.

…by the end of this year – we will be producing 25 six figure earners…

…every 30 days.

…by the end of this year – we WILL be in the top 100 most trafficked websites online –PERIOD.

WHY?

Because… the world has been through billions of years of change – evolution, creation, whatever it is…

…thousands of generations of human beings have been born, died, and MILLIONS of years of genetic sculpting has just produced…

…the MOST badass generation of human beings that have ever walked the earth.

YOU.

Your parents, your grandparents, and your ancestors did NOT fight through life, have the best of who they are fight for life, passed through a thousand generations of birth and death to produce a damned wussy.

In Short:

It’s YOUR TURN now.

YOU are the best of history…

Tomorrow night, we unleash the birth of a new breed of winners. Tomorrow night, we lift the game to a whole new level.

Andy Griffith, a staple icon of the Baby Boomer generation recently passed away from a heart attack at the age of 86.

Although Andy had a career in various other forms of entertainment, it was his role as small-town Sheriff Andy Taylor that made him beloved to millions of Americans.

The Andy Griffith Show was a weekly event in my house growing up, showing the life in the simple town of “Mayberry” where the wise and unshakable Sheriff Taylor sorted out the little problems of life. Don Knotts played Deputy Barney Fife, and Jim Nabors played the ever-memorable Gomer Pyle, the gas pumper. Most critics consider the show, which ran from 1960 to 1968, one of the top four or five sitcoms ever shown on television.

We were all devastated when the show ended, but Griffith said he chose to end it (while it was at the top in ratings), ”because I thought it was slipping, and I didn’t want it to go down further,” reports The Associated Press. But memories of being a little kid, cozy and safe in my parents house after dinner, playing with my friends, taking my evening bath (yes, we all took evening bath’s back then when we were young!), live on and bring me to the brink of tears of nostalgia.

Andy Griffith’s Life

Most people don’t know that Andy wanted to have a career as a musician. But his talents as a gifted storyteller, combined with home town humor destined him to sail a different ship.

He soon became a regular on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Steve Allen Show” in the 1950s, other legendary TV shows that defined the Baby Boomer childhood. The Andy Griffith Show debuted several weeks before John F. Kennedy’s election as president and ended a few weeks before the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

His relaunch of the 1960s sitcom in 1972, The New Andy Griffith Show,” in 1972 lasted only one year. I suppose the innocence of the times were already long gone by then.

In the 1990s, Griffith performed in other TV movies, and in 2009, he played the role of Grandpa Joe in the movie Play the Game. But Andy ‘s big return to television in was 1986, playing the title role in the TV legal drama “Matlock, which aired until 1995.

Griffith never did give up on his musical dreams, however, and in 1997 he won a Grammy Award for best Southern, country or bluegrass gospel album for “I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns.

The actor had many health problems in later years, including a non-fatal heart attack in 2000 (after which he underwent quadruple heart-bypass surgery). He had hip surgery after falling in 2007, and also suffered from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological illness that can cause sudden paralysis.

Griffith was married three times; Cindi Griffin, his third wife whom he married in 1983 survives him.

The President Sums It Up

President George W. Bush bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon him in 2005. In his speech, the President Bush said, “Looking back on his Mayberry days, Andy explained the timeless appeal of the show. He said ‘it was about love. Barney would set himself up for a fall, and Andy would be there to catch him.’ The enduring appeal of the show depends-and still does — on the simplicity and sweetness and rectitude of the man behind the badge. TV shows come and go, but there’s only one Andy Griffith.”

Happy Birthday USA

Only236 years young, our nation has come a long way and still has a long way to go. The “Great Experiment” that was the United States defied the naysayers who predicted it would not work.

As a Baby Boomer, I have many fond memories of past Independence Days, especially as a young child attending the fireworks with my Dad, too long gone from us. I remember loving every minute of it – the louder the better, with the great BOOMS my favorite part. They were always over too quickly.

As a college kid living in Washington, D.C., spending a beautiful Fourth of July night on the Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, listening to a symphony orchestra while standing in awe of one of the best fireworks displays in the nation.

As a young mother, holding my hands over my boys’ ears and comforting them when the noise got too loud.

Where did the time go?

The Baby Boomer in America on July 4, 2012

Like most generations past, I suppose we look back with nostalgia at a more perfect world, wondering how things could have changed so much – some of them not for the better.

Growing up, young kids grabbed their bicycles and went outside to play without parental supervision, knowing only what time they had to be home for lunch and dinner. A time when parents did not have to worry about where their young children were or what they were doing. Someone else’s mom was home and welcomed (and just as likely) to come out and reprimand someone else’s child for misbehavior – something that just doesn’t happen today. Mom and Dad are gone, and children too young to be safely left home alone are in some form of daycare or a summer camp.

We were the generation that was going to change the world for the better, and never get older than 30 (that mystical age after which one was no longer to be trusted)! Ha……the youngest of us will turn 48 this year and the oldest Baby Boomers will hit 67 – numbers that were incomprehensible back then.

Baby Boomer Business and Life Going Forward

According to a June, 2012 post in Baby Boomer Gold, a membership site for my generation, providing advocacy, discounts and information to Boomers:

“Here are 10 sobering facts about the baby boomer retirement crisis…

#1 According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 46 percent of all American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 29 percent of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement.

#2 According to a recent poll conducted by Americans for Secure Retirement, 88 percent of all Americans are worried about “maintaining a comfortable standard of living in retirement”. Last year, that figure was at 73 percent.

#3 A study conducted by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research has found that American workers are $6.6 trillion short of what they need to retire comfortably.

#5 On January 1st, 2011 the very first Baby Boomers started to retire. For almost the next 20 years, more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will be retiring every single day.

#6 At the moment, only about 13 percent of all Americans are 65 years of age or older. By 2030, that number will soar to 18 percent.

#7 Right now, there are somewhere around 40 million senior citizens. By 2050 that number is projected to increase to 89 million.

#8 Back in 1991, half of all American workers planned to retire before they reached the age of 65. Today, that number has declined to 23 percent.

#9 According to one recent survey, 74 percent of American workers expect to continue working once they are “retired”.

#10 Between 1991 and 2007 the number of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 that filed for bankruptcy rose by a staggering 178 percent.”

Obviously Baby Boomers and American society face many challenges as this generation enters this stage of life.

But it is a far cry from dismal. As I mentioned in my blog, Mary Anne Nagy.com, Baby Boomers are not slowing down, rolling over or giving up. We are determined to live life to the fullest and to crush the challenges put in our way. As my post on the subjectpoints out:

“We are all so full of courage, mettle, spirit. We’ve always had the courage to make huge changes to our work, our play, our parenting, our life-outlook. That courage to adapt is still inside us. I’m not doing a Pollyanna pep talk here — to me, our inner strength, our courage, is a given. I’ve seen it all my life from all of us. And I know we still have something left in the reservoir.” –Marcia Barhydt in Boomer Cafe

The Home-Based Baby Boomer Business in the Years Ahead

Hundreds of millions of people are or have started home-based businesses in the last few years at record rates, likely spurred on by more than just that old 1776 entrepreneurial spirit – but rather aided by the necessity caused by our economic climate here and abroad.

By far, the largest group of Americans doing so are the Baby Boomers. It is easy to anticipate a “retirement” of my generation that consists of continuing to work as a self-employed entrepreneur, something many of us may have wished we had done years ago.

With the increase in technology and Baby Boomers’ flocking to it in droves and taking it on with finesse, the online Baby Boomer Business also represents the largest number of Internet start ups in the country.

It makes perfect sense, when one imagines growing older and no longer wishing (or capable) of digging a car out of the snow to get to work, when one can often earn six times or more of what they are making by selecting the proper business opportunity.

Despite the ten dire predictions of BabyBoomerGold.com, it appears as if our future looks bright.

As bright as it did for our country on July 4, 1776, so many years ago.